Sandstorm
CLEOPATRA VII (2022)
01. Stargate
02. Shemagh In Blood
03. Warrior People
04. Mask Of Anubis
05. Osiris And Seth
06. Cleopatra VII
07. The Magic Of Isis
08. Sarcophagus
09. Ankhesenamon
10. Book Of The Dead
11. Return Of The Medjay
12. The Boat Of Ra
PRODUCTION OF THE ALBUM “CLEOPATRA VII”.
Produced By Tiago Della Vega at Shokran Studios.
Rio Grande do Sul/Belo Horizonte, Brazil – Agosto 2021.
Orchestration by Tiago Della Vega, except Ankhesenamon.
Vocal Direction by Guilherme de Siervi.
Mixed and mastered by Tiago Della Vega at Shokran Studios.
Illustrations, cover and logo: Rômulo Dias.
Photography: Pedro Nicoli.
MakeUp: Rhaissa Policarpo.
Executive production: Medjay.
Guest Musicians:
May “Undead” Puertas: Vocals in “Sarcophagus”.
Oula Al-Saghir: Vocals in “The Magic Of Isis” and “Cleopatra VII” narrating the poem “Marco Antônio’s Dream”, written by Olavo Bilac.
Mafra: Vocals in “Ankhesenamon”.
Audio recorded by: Phil Lima (BH), André Mendonça (BH) and Demian Tiguez (SP).
SANDSTORM (2020)
01. Egyptian Beast
02. Medjay
03. Death in the House of Horus
04. Revenge of Horus
05. Rise for Glory
06. Sandstorm
07. Lady of the Nile
PRODUCTION OF THE ALBUM “SANDSTORM”.
Our first album, Sandstorm, has 08 songs, being 07 authorial and one authorized tribute to the band Iced Earth. The musical and conceptual process was developed with Rafael Bittencourt (Angra) mentorship. To spice things a bit, the song “Rise For Glory” has been composed with him.
The general concept of this album is about controlling our own aggressive nature. Dealing with this is a constant struggle in the life of the Medjay which we refer to in the stories. Similarly to the Medjay, all of us humans also struggle in a daily basis to control this aggressiveness within exposing Thomas Hobbes philosophical dilemma “Man in wolf to man”, and this is the background for the song “Egyptian Beast”, that opens the album.
The song “Medjay” introduces to the public who is this Medjay warrior we talk about, that after several battles and killings, he struggles to control his aggressive nature know as “the beast within”. This conflict is somehow similar to controlling our own violent nature.
Continuing the story, the song “Death in The House of Horus” occurs when the Medjay is invited by Hathor, the Goddess of Love, to go to the House of Horus, where she tries to persuade him to stop killing. Driven by fury and rage, he kills the Goddess and sets the house of Horus on fire. The fourth chapter is the “Revenge of Horus”, that takes place when Horus finds his house destroyed and Hathor killed. He punishes the Medjay by locking him up in a sarcophagus full of Scarabs that will devour him alive. On this song we have the participation of the soprano Marília Zangrandi, that collaborated with Geoff Tate on his last world tour representing an echo of the Goddess Hathor, suffering for the Medjay’s fate.
“Rise For Glory” has been composed with the collaboration of Rafael Bittencourt (Angra), who is also our mentor. This song is about the many Warriors that day after day fight and return from their battles bringing scars on their bodies and their souls.
The album’s title song “Sandstorm” is a phenomenon that occurs when winds strengthen to the point where they’re able to lift grains of sand off the ground and blow them violently through the air. This phenomenon was an inspiration to portrait one of the most important revolutions in history know as Arab Spring. The revolution on the political Arab world was like a Sandstorm against the tyranny of dictators, giving birth to a new perspective of freedom and social justice. This is our tribute to the millions of brave Egyptians who marched towards Tahrir Square (Al Midan) in Cairo on January 25th of 2011. The square became a symbol of strength and resistance.
“Lady of the Nile” might represent the Medjay’s spirit fleeing from his agony during the punishment inflicted by Horus or just a mere delirium where he meets Nefertiti by the wonderful and peaceful margins of the Nile and falls in love for the “Lady of the Nile”. Would the Medjay find his redemption? Nefertiti was interpreted by May “Undead” Puertas, Torture Squad lead vocal.
And last, but not least, our authorized tribute to the band Iced Earth with the song “Violate”. For this version we invited May Undead to join us once again. This song represents Spawn’s raging fury as he is tortured by the Soul Devourer, somehow similar to some moments and feelings the Medjay experienced in the stories we told. This version has been registered as a video clip and has been distributed over all digital platforms. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrp8GMHPFVQ)
The album Sandstorm has been recorded on the months of November and December of 2019 at Ninrod Studios (São Paulo) with mix and master by André Cabelo (Chakal) with Rafael Bitterncourt’s (Angra) mentorship.
